The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today announced the signing of a Money Smart Partnership Agreement with the Urban Financial Services Coalition (UFSC) and its chapters, making UFSC the newest member of the Money Smart Alliance Program. The agreement was signed during USFC’s Annual Conference in Las Vegas, NV.

UFSC is a non-profit organization of minority professionals in the financial services industry and related fields. It supports programs that offer practical benefits for minority financial services professionals, banks and other financial institutions. In addition, UFSC serves as a resource for improving the economic development of communities that are often underserved by the financial services industry as a whole.

As a partner in the Money Smart Alliance Program, USFC will encourage its local chapters nationwide to adopt the Money Smart curriculum, and will work with the FDIC to host Train the Trainer sessions at those chapters. UFSC chapters already signed up to offer Money Smart classes are located in the following cities: Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; Columbia, SC; Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Long Beach, CA; Memphis, TN; and Washington, DC.

“The FDIC is pleased to partner with USFC in bringing the Money Smart financial education curriculum to communities across the country,” said Donna Gambrell, who, as Deputy Director of the FDIC’s Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection, oversees the Money Smart program. “Learning the principles of sound money management is critical to building a secure financial future for families and, ultimately, the communities they live in.”

“The Urban Financial Services Coalition is proud to be a part of the FDIC's Money Smart Alliance Program,” said UFSC President Damita Barbee. “In addition to allowing UFSC to provide additional value to its members, the program strengthens the relationship between the FDIC and UFSC as partners in providing economic power to the minority communities across the nation.”

The FDIC developed the award-winning Money Smart curriculum to help adults develop their money management skills, understand basic financial services, and build confidence about effectively using banking services. Among the topics that are covered are basics of borrowing, how to save effectively, consumer rights, keeping track of your money, and how credit histories affect your credit future. One of the most popular modules teaches students how to calculate interest rates so that they will understand exactly how much they will end up paying for items bought on credit. Money Smart is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese, and is free of charge to the user.

To learn more about Money Smart, visit the Money Smart page on the FDIC website at: http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/moneysmart/index.html. In the three years since Money Smart was released, more than 100,000 adults have completed the course and more than 14,000 new bank accounts have been opened by Money Smart graduates, many of whom had no prior banking relationships, relying instead on high-cost nonbank alternatives such as check-cashing outlets and payday lenders. Money Smart was recently awarded a Service to America medal for this work by the Partnership for Public Service.

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Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public confidence in the nation’s banking system. The FDIC insures deposits at the nation’s 9,116 banks and savings associations and it promotes the safety and soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to which they are exposed. The FDIC receives no federal tax dollars – insured financial institutions fund its operations.

FDIC press releases and other information are available on the Internet at www.fdic.gov or contact the FDIC's Public Information Center (877-275-3342 or 202-416-6940).